Coach Charlie Dingboom, 2010 Inductee into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame

Joe Ehrmann was a big-time football player with an equally big opinion of his high school football coach, Charlie Dingboom. Ehrmann was a 6-foot-4, 240-pound tackle, who in 1966 under Dingboom, led Riverside to a fifth-straight Harvard Cup, extending its winning streak to 35 games.

"I would not have had the opportunities I've had in sports, and life, if not for Coach Dingboom's coaching, mentoring, advising and discipline," said Ehrmann, who had a 9-year career in the NFL. "Coach D. used his position and platform as a coach to not only help turn boys into men, but he also impacted a community by creating civic pride in Riverside that lingers to this day."

Dingboom established a legacy of achievement. He had a reputation as a strong-willed disciplinarian in a coaching tenure that spanned six decades. His players knew what was expected of them, and he hammered away at the team concept.

Dingboom served in the U.S. Marines from 1944-46 and then graduated from the University at Buffalo in 1950. He played football for the Bulls from 1947 to 1949. He also did graduate work at UB between 1954 and 1957.

He actually started coaching in 1947, when he got injured at UB. After graduating, he returned to coaching for good with stops at UB, Kensington HS, Riverside, Kenmore East and Nichols.

He's best known for his tenure at Riverside from 1959-89. After leading Riverside to the 1960 Harvard Cup Co-Championship with Burgard, he went on to take Riverside to 11 more Thanksgiving Day games.

Besides a 41-game unbeaten streak, Dingboom became the only coach in Harvard Cup history to win five straight unshared championships. Amazingly, his Riverside teams reached the traditional Thanksgiving Day game every year during the 1960s.

Dingboom finished his coaching career with a 120-94-11 record. In 2002, he was inducted with the first class into the Harvard Cup Hall of Fame.

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